michal's musings

There is a need for balance between nothingness and "being-ness." Bede Griffiths is into something.  It is important in the spiritual life to experience nothingness. It creates freedom and humility. It fosters kindness and compassion. Before we can experience nothingness we need to acknowledge something-ness about ourselves. We go from something to nothing.  That something can be nothing e.g. i am not better or worst than others. I am not even different than others. I am who I am.  This is the nothingness that I practice.

“Step 11 emphasizes opening to God's will. Thomas Merton said, "The will of God is not a 'fate' to which we must submit, but a creative act in our life that produces something absolutely new, something hitherto unforeseen by the laws and established patterns. Our cooperation consists not solely in conforming to external laws, but in opening our wills to this   mutually creative act  [emphasis mine]." I wish someone had taught me that when I was young. God allows us to be in on the deal. God's will is not domineering but alluring and inviting, until it is somehow our will too. ” Adapted from Richard Rohr,   Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps   (Franciscan Media: 2011),   94-97, 102-103. The question of God’s will is one that has made me curious for a long time.  How can I know God’s will for me? What is God’s will? Can we have an access to God’s will? Is the access to God’s will possible? All of those questions are making me v

“Step 11 emphasizes opening to God's will. Thomas Merton said, "The will of God is not a 'fate' to which we must submit, but a creative act in our life that produces something absolutely new, something hitherto unforeseen by the laws and established patterns. Our cooperation consists not solely in conforming to external laws, but in opening our wills to this   mutually creative act  [emphasis mine]." I wish someone had taught me that when I was young. God allows us to be in on the deal. God's will is not domineering but alluring and inviting, until it is somehow our will too. ” Adapted from Richard Rohr,   Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps   (Franciscan Media: 2011),   94-97, 102-103. The question of God’s will is one that has made me curious for a long time.  How can I know God’s will for me? What is God’s will? Can we have an access to God’s will? Is the access to God’s will possible? All of those questions are making me ve

Brother David Steindl-Rast challenges my view on God. He makes a statement that God is a direction. He is a direction to find oneself in God. He quotes Thomas Merton by saying that we look for God insight of oneself and not outside of oneself. In some way our self is God. That self is the image of God in us. If this is our way of understanding God then we are able to experience God all the time.  That all the time means, when we connect with our self. St. Ignatius said that our deepest desires are the desires God has for us.  Anything that points into our deepest experiences is the experience of God. I am very happy I had teachers like St. Ignatius, Merton, Steindl-Rest, and many others. I am gifted with teachers. Now, I need to learn how to practice what I know. This is the best pilgrimage and journey I can make. 

Hanukkah is one of my favorite holidays. I love to light the candles and meditate about the Maccabees. It is a powerful story in the faith in humanity and in action. We don’t wait for a miracle. We actively participate in miracle. This is what I learn from the Maccabees. Happy Hanukkah!!! 

“The greatest suffering is to feel alone, unwanted, unloved.” These thought was expressed by Mother Teresa. I felt that more than once in my life.  The emotional suffering is very painful.  For years I was afraid of the physical pain. But, when I experienced the emotional pain the physical become nothing.  It is not totally true that the physical pain is nothing. The physical pain is much more visible. It is still a pain. However, the emotional pain is invisible. It comes and very often it cannot be cured that easily. 

 At the time when the world is challenged by the fights between different religious people it is something very good that a person of other tradition is inspired to create a very interesting and original commentary on believes of another religious tradition.  Here, Bernstein took something that was very important to Christians – the Mass, and created his own artistic interpretation of it.  An artist is much freer to do that than a liturgies or a theologian.  He put life and energy into it.  The role of a celebrant who has a breakdown was the summary humanity. He created that Mass in honor of J.F. Kennedy. For me as a Catholic priest this interpretation of Mass is going to change the way how I will celebrate it. I will bring my brokenness into it. Jesus can be understood the best by his own people.  Mr. Bernstein, thank you for your gift.  This is a good discussion about the Bernstein Mass between Catholics and Jews. The speakers give interesting perspectives about their o

What is the teaching of Jesus? We are not the army? We are not the force? We are not the ruling community? But, we became one in 313. That damaged much of Christianity.   Rorh, a Catholic priest and Franciscan, is challenging the way how the Christianity should be expressed and experienced. We, the Christians, do not control but we forgive and respect people. We are peace people. The Mennonites, Amish and Quakers are the ones who live the peace message of Jesus. They are the conscious of Christianity in the matter of peace and violence.  

This is a challenging teaching of Sadhuru. What I like it doesn’t matter. It is an exaggeration. The other approach is: am I liked by others and the world? I am not sure I should be concern too much about being liked by others. (I am not saying that Sadhuru said that.) If my goal is being liked by others it is still about me. So, what should I do? I think we should just be ourselves and notice the existence and try to live without intentionally harming ourselves and others. The intentionality is the key word. It is the intentionality that has influence on our karma – the transcendental existence. To be able to focus on my karma I need to live without any form of attachment. Liking is that most common attachment. When I focus on my transcendental existence I know I live. Anything other is just other. So, my goal is not to like but to live and know that I exist and the common experience of existence is the only transcendental connection that matters.  

American Myth “Western rationalism no longer understands myths and their importance. Although almost all historic cultures valued myths, we are the obvious exception. Western culture has replaced these effective and healing story lines with ineffective, cruel, and disorienting narratives like communism, fascism, terrorism, capitalism, and consumerism. Each in its own way is a watertight explanation and refuses any outside critique. (Richard Rohr: Myths, Tuesday, September 29, 2015)” Few months ago I attended a workshop at the Archdiocese of Chicago about social justice. It was good and bad at the same time.  The good was that we got together and we spoke about how to create small groups.  The bad was that this workshop wanted to prove that all the American Dreams are no longer true. I did not like that. My dad came to America in 1985.  By 2015 my family lives the American Dream. We love America and we try to build this nation and serve this nation and keep the Dream going. I am

all are atheists “Nobody can accuse the Catholic Church of being democratic, but as an atheist I’ll paraphrase Winston Churchill’s remark about democracy: Pope Francis is the worst pope we ever had, except for all the others. I’m no papal historian, but I’m pressed to think of a less bad pope. True, I have nothing bad to say about Pope John Paul I, perhaps because he was pope for only 33 days. Although Pope Benedict XVI unified atheists whenever he made pronouncements on atheists, gays, pedophilia, and all matters sexual, his successor, Pope Francis, is a divider rather than a uniter within the atheist community. Some atheists see this pope glass as 1/10 full, while others see it as 9/10 empty.(By Herb Silverman)” http://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith/2013/09/23/pope-francis-divides-atheists I like Mr. Silverman’s statement. I think it is good that some religious people challenge some atheists and that some atheists find something interesting and good among religious people. I

divine and human “‘Guardini says that it's a principle of logic that A cannot be B at the same time and in the same respect that it's A. . . . Likewise, God is the Creator and we are the creature. And yet, Guardini adds, 'Although I am not God, I am not other than God either.' He says the direct intuitive realization that although I am not God, I am not other than God either, fans out in all directions. Although I am not you, I am not other than you either. Although I am not the earth, I am not other than the earth, either. As this soaks into me, what are the implications of this in the way I act in the world, in relationships with other people?’(Richard Rohr: Unitive Consciousness, Monday, September 7, 2015)” Relationships.... This is something very interesting. Following Guardini’s thought, that if I am able to enter into some relationship with the other, the other cannot be much different than I am.  Well, that make sense. We are able to enter into the relati

Jesus kiss “Mother Teresa – ‘The Kiss of Jesus’ This is not a fringe position in the Catholic Church, which has long extolled the spiritual virtues of suffering. Mother Teresa’s attraction to pain shaped her ministry to the dying, and one of the most serious criticisms of her Calcutta homes was that patients were denied modern medical care to relieve pain even when the Missionaries of Charity had the funding to do so. By her own report , Mother Teresa once told a woman to imagine that her suffering was kisses from Jesus. “Suffering, pain, sorrow, humiliation, feelings of loneliness, are nothing but the kiss of Jesus, a sign that you have come so close that he can kiss you.” ‘Tell Jesus to stop,’ the woman responded. (By Valerie Tarico)” http://www.salon.com/2015/09/26/why_right_wing_christian_leaders_are_often_indifferent_to_needless_suffering_partner/ Mrs. Tarico challenges me very much and that is why I like her. I like to be challenged intellectually. However, I am not

Las Vegas When most people thinks about Las Vegas they picture some combination of gambling, burlesque, night clubs and legalized prostitution—the pleasures that earned Vegas the nickname Sin City. But when Sociologist Lori Fazzino thinks about Las Vegas, she pictures churches. Seventy-seven percent of Las Vegas residents say they are religious, mostly Christian; and Vegas caters to a largely Christian population of tourists, many of whom party hard on Saturday night and then attend one of the 30 churches surrounding the strip on Sunday. And yet, the city’s public image makes it a target for revival meetings, “church planting” and missionary outreach by conservative Christians who see the city as ripe for redemption. According to Fazzino, that makes Sin City a fascinating place to study religious belief and non-belief. (By Valerie Tarico)” http://www.salon.com/2015/08/22/atheist_are_as_moral_as_theists_an_interview_with_a_sin_city_religious_sociologist_partner/ I was in Las

Jesus Mickey and Lenin “Rather than making dogmatic statements about how to get to heaven, Jesus modeled and taught how to live on earth in a loving way, and he said that this was indeed heaven! But Christians have all too often pushed heaven into the future. We've made Jesus' death and resurrection into a reward/punishment system for the next world, which creates tremendously self-absorbed and self-preoccupied people. It doesn't transform anyone into compassionate, loving individuals. Instead it leads to a kind of morbid self-analysis in which people feel guilty, inferior, and inadequate or superior and self-righteous. (Richard Rohr: A Change in Consciousness, Sunday, September 6, 2015)” As always I like Rohr’s approach to earthy Christianity. I agree with him that too many Christians live in some world of ideas and imaginary world. We need to go back to concrete Christian experience. Jesus was much more about earthly life, earthly change and material material world.

“A man asked the Prophet, "Give me advice." The Prophet said, "Do not become angry." The man asked again, and the Prophet repeated his advice. For a third time, the man asked the question, and the Prophet said again, "Do not become angry." The repetition of this counsel stresses the importance of the Prophet's admonition about anger. Scholars agree, however, that this hadith does not prohibit anger per se, for even the Messenger of God became angry at times. He once said, "I am a human being and I become angry like you." The Prophet's anger could be seen on his face. But his anger was always in response to an aberration in human character and behavior offensive to God. So anger is not a negative emotion in and of itself. It is part of the human creation as our flesh and limbs are. Without anger, there are many things that would not have been achieved. Anger can be a positive motivator.” Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseas

Matthew 25:35-40   ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me   something  to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me   something  to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;   naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’   “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You   something  to drink?   And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?   ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’   “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine,   even  the least   of them,  you did it to Me.’ This is the fragment of the Scripture that has been challenging me for a long time.  I have been a priest for seven years.  And only in the last year I started to interact with the people who live on the streets.  I just didn’t want to deal with them.  It was

This summer was a powerful time for me.  I spent some time in Miami working with the people who are poor together with the Brothers of St. John of God.  They are great group of people. I learned so much from them. So, what did I learn from them? -           They are brothers and not clerics so they relate to people as brothers.  To all they are brothers.  Yes, some of them are priests but this is not that important.  What important to them is that all the others are their “spiritual siblings.” This is something I like very much.  Even though people call me Father but in reality I am their brother.  This is something I need to remind myself when I see people who need my help. -           All people are dignified and they need to be respected. We all are children of God. There are some differences between us but this same dignity. We are human beings – the crown of evolution. I decided that I would not turn away my head from anybody. I will look at them and at least smile.  This

During the Pride Parade in Jerusalem a religious Jew attacked innocent people… This was something so evil that a religious person was able to stabbed six people. He stabbed them because he thought that LGBTQ is evil. It is hard to accept that religious people can couse harm to other believing that they are doing something good and make some Higher Power (God) happy. The actions of this man were totally evil because of his thinking. I am asking myself: Is religion evil? I don't think religion is evil. Only religious people’s actions can be evil. Nothing in this world is evil by nature. We make things evil by misunderstanding and abusing them. Homophobia is an evil concept.  No one should be discriminating. We know that religions have been a source of homophobia. This is evil. If there is God; God is God of all: straight and LGBTQ people. He/She/It created all of us.  There should be no evil thoughts, feelings, desires and behavior between people. Any source of evil is evil.

Elderly people can teach us how to be a very patient person. They live in the present time. Sometimes, people who live with them cannot expect anything from them that comes from elderly people's past or even from their future. This can be a great psychological and spiritual experience. Why working with elderly can be a psychological and spiritual experience? For God everything is in the present time. There is no future or past. I help with my grandpa right now. He is over 93 years old. Sometimes I have to tell him who I am. How often do we desire to forget about who we are?  It is not always easy to accept who we are.  I am ok with this experience. It makes me a better person. It helps me psychologically and spiritually to live in the present moment and to enjoy what I can experience at that moment. The psychological help from this experience is that my expectations from people are very low. I try not to have any expectations from my grandpa. I know he is my grandpa but he

My grandpa is over 93 years old. For his age he is still very independent. However, at the same time his is no longer as independent as he used to be.  His way of thinking is no longer clear and his memory is not good. His ability to be critical is no longer as strong and good as it was in the past. It would be very easy to suggest him to do or believe or say something than it was ever possible in the past.   Working with my grandpa I know that he is at the moment of his life where he is no longer able to make a decision about end of his life issues. However, I do not think it would be something difficult for us to suggest him that a euthanasia is something he should consider for himself.  In this case a euthanasia can be a source of great abuse. Sometimes, I think that people who are in any form of pain (physical, emotional or spiritual) or old age can not make any longer any independent decisions about end of their life.   However, one can make a statement that our decisio

“People on the streets have their names.” This is a powerful statement. This is the best way to start serving and not only serving but living with others.  Yes, some of us live in homes, some in apartments, some on streets, some under bridges and some in closed institutions: hospitals, prisons, etc. However, we all live on this same planet and we all share this same land, air, sky, sun and moon. We all share this same human experience together.   The beginning of any service is to realize that we all are this same and that the service starts with an attitude of communion.  

I am very happy that when I was in Miami the Brothers of St. John of God helped the immigrants from Cuba.  In 1985 my dad left Communist Poland and came to the U.S. This was the best decision he was able to make at that time.  It did change the lives of my own family and I believe it did change for better. Now, looking at the Cuban immigrants I was able to see my dad in them.  I was able to imagine the lives of their children growing here as Cuban Americans. I was able to see my own life in them.  I am an immigrant too.  I am proud of that and I am proud of the United States of America. Also, I am very happy that President Obama decided to start a diplomatic relationship with Cuba.  I believe it will help to create a better Cuba but also it will help to be a better America.  America that is trying to help and not control the lives of other people in OTHER countries. In addition, I hope that it will help to heal some emotional and spiritual wounds of so many Cuban America

Few weeks ago I spent some time in Miami. I had a great time there.  No, I did not go to the beach or any tourist/commercial place.  I spent some  time with the Brothers of St. John of God and people they serve.  The people they serve are very interesting.  Some of them are homeless, addicted to drugs and alcohol.  Some of them have mental or physical problems. Some of them are immigrants. The powerful lesson for me was that I learned as much from the Brothers as I learned from the people they serve. I do not want to use the expression that the Brothers: “take care of the people.” It is more than that.  It is not “take care of them” in the same way as parents take care of their children.  The Brothers walk with the people they serve.  They are part of their lives.  They care about them and at the same time they know and they treat them with a great dignity and freedom.  The people can come and go as they want.  They can be part of the programs or not. Nobody is ministered to against

I became a citizen of the United States in 2008.  This was a great time for me.  For the first time I felt being totally united with my American people.  However, I never felt like I was looked down by my teachers or classmates or neighbors before I became a seminarian and a priest.  When I was in the seminary I was considered an international seminarian.  They called me a Polish seminarian.  When I became a priest the people - priests in the church started to call me an international priest or a Polish priest.    Yes, I am Polish.  But also, I am an American.  When I became a priest I was already an American.  I had an American passport and I was proud of that.  So, I have to stop people to call me a Polish priest or a Polish boy.  I am a Polish – American priest and a boy.  And I am proud of that. May America be blessed.  I am so happy I live in the United States of America and I can contribute to this beautiful country.  Happy 4 th of July. 

Iftar dinner at the White House  No, I was not invited to the White House to celebrate the Iftar dinner. However, I did celebrate it with my Muslim and Christian friends an Iftar dinner with the UIC Muslim Students Association. I was able to break a fast with them and pray together with them.  It was a very godly experience.  So, why do I post pictures of the White House Ifat dinner? I think that the Iftar dinner becomes part of our American culture.  We need to break the perception of the world that the Americans are not sympathetic to the Muslims and Islam. Many of us respect Islam and our Muslim Americans and non-Americans. We just do not support any form of religious aggression: Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, etc. Let me share a few quotes from the President’s speech during his Iftar dinner.   "Our Iftar is also a reminder of the freedoms that bind us together as Americans, including the freedom of religion -- that inviolable right to practi

People need to be creative in the times of difficulty.  Why? It is sometimes the only one way how we and others can service.    Sir Nicholas Winton (Born :  May 19, 1909 (age 106) and Died : July 1, 2015)  was a man who was able to think beyond the social, political, economic limitations.   That helped him to save 669 Jewish children from the Holocaust.   This clip is an explanation of how Sir Nicholas did that and what kind of impact his thinking and acting had on people’s lives. Also, it is interesting, that he did not stop helping.  He focused his life on protecting others who could not do this for themselves.  He is one of the Tzadikim   Nistarim – the hidden righteous ones.   

Richard Rohr wrote: The contemplative, non-dualistic mind withholds from labeling things or categorizing them too quickly (i.e., judging), so it can come to see them in themselves, apart from the words or concepts that become their substitutes. Humans tend to think that because they agree or disagree with the   idea  of a thing, they have realistically encountered the thing itself. Not at all true, says the contemplative. It is necessary to encounter the thing in itself. "Presence" is my word for this encounter, a different way of knowing and touching the moment. It is a much more vulnerable position, and leaves us without a full sense of control, which is why many will not go there. [1] To be “present” means that I sit and take time to look at observed object (my life, experience, people, etc.) from all kinds of different perspectives. It is a non-judgmental way of looking at the object that becomes a phenomenon for us.  I believe in the power of words.  If we me

Richard Rohr wrote: Alternative consciousness is largely letting go of my mind's need to solve problems, to fix people, to fix myself, to rearrange the moment because it is not to my liking. When that mind goes, another, non-dualistic mind is already there waiting. We realize it is actually our natural way of seeing. It's the way we thought as children before we started judging and analyzing and distinguishing things one from another. As Helen Luke says, "The coming to consciousness is not a discovery of some new thing; it is a long and painful return to that which has always been.” [1] Here, Rohr is challenging my desire to control and to look for what I don’t have and not to let go the control and enjoy what I have.  Very often I find myself dreaming about a different life than the one I have.  However, do I know the life I have right now?  I just finished working on my spiritual autobiography.  It was a very powerful experience. Why? I learned so much abo

Richard Rohr wrote: One of the earliest accounts of Francis, the "Legend of Perugia," quotes Francis as telling the first friars, "You only know as much as you  do ." His emphasis on action, practice, and lifestyle was foundational and revolutionary for its time and at the root of Franciscan alternative orthodoxy ("heterodoxy").   You may be wondering, "How can Franciscanism be an  alternative  and still be called  orthodox  (right and true)?" Heterodoxy is precisely a third something in between orthodoxy and heresy!... The early Franciscan friars and "Poor Clares" wanted to be  Gospel practitioners  instead of merely "word police," "inspectors," or "museum curators" as Pope Francis calls some clergy. [1] Again, Richard Rohr challenges me to look at the Christian faith from a more Jewish perspective.  Right action, this is what is important in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures.  Onl